Hawaii regulators lambasted over slow approval of MMJ cultivation

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Hawaii’s health department faced pointed criticism from state lawmakers last week for dragging its feet on medical marijuana cultivation.

The state’s eight vertically integrated MMJ companies have been stymied in their efforts to grow medical cannabis as they wait for final approvals from regulators, Hawaii News Now reported.

Some companies indicated they are confronting job cuts because of the delays.

“I’m just trying to figure out what’s taking it so long cause I really don’t think this is rocket science,” state Sen. Roz Baker declared during a meeting of the Medical Marijuana Legislative Oversight Working Group.

According to Hawaii News Now, the state has signed a contract to implement a seed-to-sale tracking program. But that won’t be ready for the dispensaries for another couple of months.